Apple Rumors a Result of 'Quasi-Religion' Around Its Products?

By Luiza Oleszczuk, Christian Post Reporter Friday, September 30, 2011

When a rumor concerning an Apple product starts, it spreads all over the Internet with the speed of light, and PC Magazine has visualized the anatomy of that phenomenon.

A rumor does not have to be confirmed to inspire an endless number of assumptions when it comes to this consumer electronics giant famous for its smart phones and tablets, according to the magazine. Even the least grounded "news" about the company's products infiltrate the Internet immediately and sets mouths drooling worldwide.

Apple's "lifestyle marketing" and the company’s obsession with secrecy have fueled a "quasi-religion" around its products, PC Magazine purports in an article analyzing the trend. That "quasi-religion" has Web-connected global disciples taking in every rumor about a new iPhone, Macbook, or any Apple creation.

Although Microsoft enjoys some populary with many of its devices, the numerous Apple-oriented websites, such as Mac Rumors, Apple Insider and Mac World, testify to compuer company's even greater popularity.

As an example, PC Magazine remarks on how speculation about the release of the new iPhone 5 (which Apple hinted at last week) essentially started not long after the iPhone 4 was released.

PC Magazine has dissected the route such gossip takes: It begins with one of the Asian suppliers, who sees the device or knows something about it, leaking the gossip to the local press. Once put on the Internet, devout tech addicts grab hold of the information and run with it. Bloggers can be either informed about it, or discover it themselves, the magazine says. Then, the analysts start speculating.

Sometimes elaborate Photoshop images are attempted to help online readers visualize what the rumored product might look like. PC notes, if an authoritative figure from Apple happens to comment on the rumor, the information grows almost to the size of a confirmed truth, even before the company makes it official.

Here is PC Magazine's take on the anatomy of an Apple rumor.